(BPRW) Virginia Festival of the Book Announces 2019 Line-up of Speakers

Over 30,000 Attendees Expected for 25th Anniversary Festival; New York Times Bestselling Authors, National Book Award Recipients, and Internationally-Renowned Scholars Lead List of Festival Speakers

(Black PR Wire) Charlottesville, Va.—The Virginia Festival of the Book—a program of Virginia Humanities celebrating its 25th year of bringing writers and readers together to promote and celebrate books, reading, literacy, and literary culture—today announced the line-up of speakers for the 2019 Festival, including more than 250 authors, illustrators, and publishing professionals. Highlights of the Festival, which will be held March 20-24, 2019, include:

• Elliot Ackerman, author of Waiting for Eden, and a past finalist for the National Book Award

• Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, author of Friday Black, a National Book Foundation “5 Under 35” honoree, and a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle's John Leonard Award for Best First Book

• Laurie Halse Anderson,* a two-time National Book Award finalist and author of SHOUT (forthcoming)

• Raymond Arsenault, one of the nation’s leading civil rights historians and author of Arthur Ashe: A Life, the first comprehensive, authoritative biography of the American icon

• David W. Blight, author of Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedoms, featured as a “Top 10 Book of the Year” for 2018 in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Time

• Tressie McMillan Cottom, author of Lower Ed: The Troubling Rise of For-Profit Colleges in the New Economy and the forthcoming Thick, a Bustle pick for “Books Coming Out In 2019 That Will Make The Perfect Book Club Picks”

• Esi Edugyan, author of Washington Black featured as a “Top 10 Book of the Year” for 2018 in the New York Times, Washington Post, Time, and Entertainment Weekly; recipient of the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award and the Scotiabank Giller Prize

• Barbara Ehrenreich,* author of Natural Causes: An Epidemic of Wellness, the Certainty of Dying, and Killing Ourselves to Live Longer and speaker for the Read & Lead Lunch

• Jarrett Krosoczka,* author of Hey, Kiddo, a finalist for the 2018 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature, and the 2019 Carol Troxell Reader in the Festival

• Beth Macy, author of Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company That Addicted America, an instant New York Times bestseller that gives voice to the devastating opioid crisis in America

• Brian Noyes, author of Red Truck Bakery Cookbook: Gold-Standard Recipes from America’s Favorite Rural Bakery, described by Garden & Gun as “nostalgic and forward-thinking at the same time”

• Jason Reynolds,* a two-time Walter Dean Myers Award winner and Newbery Award, Printz Award, and National Book Award honoree, and author of Lu, the fourth book in the bestselling Track series

• Lisa See,* author of The Island of Sea Women (forthcoming) and speaker for the Literary Luncheon

• Don Winslow,* author of The Border (forthcoming) and speaker for the Crime Wave Brunch The list of 2019 speakers is available at VaBook.org and searchable by genre (fiction, nonfiction, poetry, children/youth, and crime fiction). The complete 2019 Festival schedule, including times and locations for Festival programs, will be announced on January 14, 2019. *Connotes previously announced speaker. The Virginia Festival of the Book is proud of its record of accessibility, affordability, and inclusivity. However, while nearly all Festival programs are free and open to the public without reservations, some will require tickets. Tickets for the Read & Lead Lunch with Barbara Ehrenreich, the Literary Lunch with Lisa See, and the Crime Wave Brunch with Don Winslow are currently available at VaBook.org.

About the Virginia Festival of the Book: A signature program of Virginia Humanities and the Virginia Center for the Book, the Virginia Festival of the Book brings readers and writers together for a five-day program of mostly free events including author readings, book signings, panel discussions, programs for children, and more. The 25th annual Festival will be held March 20-24, 2019, in Charlottesville and Albemarle County, Virginia. The Festival consistently attracts audiences of more than 20,000 from more than forty states each year, with an estimated local economic impact of about $4 million annually. To learn more, visit VaBook.org. About Virginia Humanities: Virginia Humanities connects people and ideas to explore the human experience and inspire cultural engagement. As the state humanities council, Virginia Humanities reaches millions in its estimated annual audience through festivals, grants, fellowships, digital initiatives, teacher institutes, radio programs, podcasts, apprenticeships, and school programs. Headquartered at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia Humanities endeavors to serve Virginians in every corner of the Commonwealth. To learn more, visit VirginiaHumanities.org.

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